As a Christian, this entire election process has been very confusing for me. There's been rhetoric from both sides of the political spectrum, but I still feel like I haven't found the perfect "fit." While I agree with one candidate on some issues, I find myself jumping the fence on others. So what does that make me? A republicrat? Is there even such a thing?

I know I'm not the first to struggle with this issue, and I know Christians certainly aren't the only ones who find themselves at such crossroads. However, I think that for a very long time, the Christian stamp of approval has gone to the Republican party, and I've been rather disturbed with the large number of Christians I've seen blindly registering themselves as such because of this precedence. We need to be informed voters, and we should be doing our homework when it comes to finding out where these candidates stand on certain issues. We need to be wary of prematurely throwing our support into one party, especially during a campaign like this one that has been surrounded by so much hype. Amidst so much political noise, I think it is incredibly easy for Christians to feel like we must take a side even if one particular side does not fully represent out core ideals and values, which are the values of Jesus Christ.

I am much closer to deciding who I will vote for in this upcoming election (something which shall remain known only to me), but the most persuasive piece of rhetoric I've heard during the course of this campaign does not come from either of the candidates. Instead, it comes from the author of Jesus for President by Shane Claiborne who says, "We vote every day with our lives. We vote every day with our feet, our hands, our lips and our wallets. We vote for the poor. We vote for the peacemakers. We vote for the marginalized, the oppressed, the most vulnerable of our society. Ultimate change does not just happen one day every four years." This is our most political act.

 Sometimes when I'm grading papers, I feel like I'm on a game show called "Guess That Word." Let me elaborate. Here is an excerpt of a story one of my students wrote for me (note: the story retains its original punctuation, grammar, and spelling). The objective of the game is to figure out the correct spelling of the horrifically misspelled word. Misspelled words are underlined. You try:

"The Blue Rose"

Once upon a time there was a farm girl that loved flowers And would always make (1) bowcketsd. then there was a god name Nat the god of nautre, he found the farm girl in his secret gardens and fell in love a first (2) site, she had black long hair and blue eyes, they soon became lovers, but the had a rule about getting wed, that Nat didn't know about, he ask to wed her, then she said only if (3) u can find a blue rose, the god looked for years the girl was then bite by a snake in the uncared garden. The god came home to a dead (4) pheonse, he was (5) feaurest then he cried she said did u find the rose? He said no, I'm sorry, she died and he cried...

Aside from the atrocious spelling, I have a few more comments about this piece. #1- Since when did commas replace periods? #2- So let me get this straight. She gets bit by a snake, dies, but then resurrects for a moment to ask Nat whether he found the rose? What is she? Jesus?

Okay, so here's the answer key:

(1) bowcketsd: bouquets - This was a hard one. I'd say this one was worth about 1,000,000 pts.

(2) site: sight - This one is for the beginner decoders. I'd say this one is worth about 100 pts.

(3) u: you - Again, easy. 100 pts.

(4) pheonse: fiance' - I'd say this one takes pretty advanced decoding skills. Another million pointer.

(5). feaurest: furious - You deserve a Ph.D if you got this one.

The thing is, I wouldn't be so tough on the kid if he at least spelled the words phonetically. i.e...bouquet-bookay

or even fiance-feeonsay. But this is just a different language! Somebody help me!